"Avengers? What is that? A boyband?"
Tony had always been so behind the time...
"It was an effort to gather people with extraordinary abilities from across the Earth as the last line of defense against Earth's greatest enemies. I call them the 'Avengers!'" Nick Fury said seriously.
The bald man couldn't help but reminisce about the powerful figure that once defeated an invading alien fleet. That figure—she was also the one that revealed to him that the Earth wasn't alone in the universe. There were countless powerful aliens in the universe, and they could turn their eyes and fangs to covet the Earth at any time. That was why he wanted to establish the Avengers.
"So, how many people have your 'super boy band' recruited?" Tony asked curiously after listening to Nick Fury's introduction.
"Well, the plan hasn't been rolling officially, so there are only two people for now," Nick Fury replied somewhat sheepishly.
This plan had only started, after all. Strictly speaking, Tony was the first official invitation. The two members that Nick Fury mentioned were the Black Widow Natasha Romanov and Hawkeye Barton, both of which were recruited from SHIELD's own ranks.
"Two? Just two people to protect the planet? I would probably be better off doing it alone, then. I'm not interested in your super boyband plan."
Nick Fury maintained a poker face to Tony's scathing refusal. He turned to the silent Li Yue instead.
"Mr. Li Yue, are you interested in joining?"
"You should probably forget about it. You know my superpower; it's not suited for fighting. Though, maybe we could make a deal," Li Yue also rejected Nick Fury's invitation.
Despite his refusal, Li Yue felt that he could maybe make a deal with Nick Fury. He could reveal his knowledge about future events to Nick Fury in exchange for favors. He felt that the Tesseract, or rather the Space Stone within it, would be important to him.
Li Yue's ability was deeply intertwined with the nature of space itself. He felt that the Space Stone could help him understand and improve his ability.
Li Yue still had no idea about the origin of his ability. He didn't think that he obtained it just because he watched a movie once. There must be something else that he didn't know. Moreover, he was in the Marvel Universe now. There was always a risk of getting killed by villains, and even if he avoided all battles, there was still the 50% chance of the Snap to worry about.
All that aside, Li Yue's current priority was to get Nick Fury to show him the Tesseract. He wanted to see if the six infinity stones of the Marvel Universe could help him improve his strength.
...
"Both SHIELD and you, Tony, must be very curious about my origin. Indeed, I do not belong in this world!"
"So, are you from another planet? An alien? How did you come to Earth?" Tony impatiently interrupted with questions. He had long been curious about Li Yue, but he couldn't ask directly about it.
"Tony, let me finish. I am not from this world, but I'm not an alien either. I am purely an Earth human, but my Earth existed in a different Universe. You should know about the Multiverse theory, right?" Li Yue helplessly chided Tony for interrupting him.
"So you came from the Earth of another universe in the Multiverse. That's still pretty hard to believe; the Multiverse theory was almost impossible to prove or confirm. I have to say, this feels a little ridiculous."
Tony was a scientist, although not by profession, so he understood the Multiverse theory pretty well. But he had yet to hear any proof that confirmed the existence of the Multiverse. This was his first interaction with a self-proclaimed proof of the theory, so he was rather skeptical.
"Multiverse or not, I'm afraid that you still have to explain how and why you have come to our Earth!" Nick Fury, on the other hand, ignored the issue of the Multiverse and pressed about Li Yue's purpose.
Nick Fury's main priority was the safety of the planet. That was why his first instinct when he found out about Li Yue was to capture and interrogate the young man. However, he wasn't sure that he could control Li Yue. Nothing could stop Li Yue if he wanted to escape.
...
"Where should we start? Let's start with the situation on Earth in my universe. Unlike this Earth, the Earth in my universe wasn't only populated by humans, but also special humans called 'Mutants.' Just like me, the Mutants have a variety of superpowers.
"For example, some of them could read and control human thought. There are those who can transform their physical appearance, shoot laser beams from their eyes, and rapidly recover from any injuries. Oh, right, there was also someone who would be Tony's nemesis if he got here. He could control metals and magnetic fields."
Tony's face turned ashen at that mention. Li Yue glanced at him before continuing, "There are countless mutants with different abilities. Some are weak, some are powerful, and few are able to destroy the Earth. One powerful and out-of-control mutant had attempted to erase all life on Earth, and under that threat, I forcibly used my ability to teleport to travel the Multiverse. In the end, I lost consciousness and wake up on this Earth."
Nick Fury and Tony both silently pondered Li Yue's backstory. After a while, Nick Fury finally broke the silence.
"I don't know if you are telling the truth, and I have no way to verify it. For the time being, we will accept what you said as true, but if you want to stay on this Earth, you must obey the law here. We, SHIELD, have the right to monitor you and prevent you from doing anything that will harm the interests of the Earth."
"Alright, alright. I just have to listen to you in your territory, right? I agree." For the first time in a while, Li Yue felt that his strength was too weak. If he had the strength of Superman, he could just ignore all the rules and do whatever he wanted.
Nick Fury continued, "Since you agree, let's talk about the deal that you mentioned."
"My deal is to exchange information for a favor from you," Li Yue replied.
"Information? What information? SHIELD's intelligence department might not be the best in the world, but we are still very capable. What information could you possibly trade with us?" Nick Fury felt incredulous of Li Yue's offer.
You want to talk about information? You can't even find the surveillance details that have been watching you all this time. The nerve to even talk about sharing information with us, SHIELD.
Of course, Nick Fury didn't say this out loud. He just thought about it in his heart. Good for him; if Li Yue heard him say that, he might just get socked in the face.
"Ah, yes. For example, Captain America is still alive. Is that news for you?" Li Yue struck right to Nick Fury's heart.